São Paulo state leads in total billionaires in Brazil, but Santa Catarina dominates the per capita ranking.
Brazil, known for its economic diversity, has a fascinating distribution of billionaires across its 27 states.
Forbes’ 12th edition of Brazilian Billionaire Ranking provides the initial data, but let’s delve deeper by adding per capita and net worth rankings to get a more nuanced view.
Original Ranking of Billionaires by State
São Paulo: 105
Rio de Janeiro: 40
Santa Catarina: 35
Rio Grande do Sul: 20
Minas Gerais: 19
(remaining states have fewer than 10 billionaires)
Original Net Worth by State:
São Paulo: R$ 509.01 billion (US$ 102.8 billion)
Rio de Janeiro: R$ 452.95 billion (US$ 91.4 billion)
Santa Catarina: R$ 150.75 billion (US$ 30.4 billion)
(remaining states contribute less in net worth)
Billionaires Per Capita
Santa Catarina: 5.2 billionaires/million people
Rio de Janeiro: 2.43 billionaires/million people
São Paulo: 2.38 billionaires/million people
Net Worth Per Capita
Rio de Janeiro: R$ 27,520 (US$ 5,564)
Santa Catarina: R$ 22,410 (US$ 4,529)
São Paulo: R$ 11,559 (US$ 2,335)
Interestingly, the list also includes 11 billionaires who have become naturalized Brazilians.
Topping the chart is Vicky Safra, the world’s wealthiest Greek woman, with a family net worth of R$87.8 billion (US$17.7 billion).
Unsurprisingly, São Paulo tops the original list in terms of the number of billionaires and their combined net worth.
However, when viewed per capita, Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina outrank São Paulo in net worth per resident, and Santa Catarina leads in billionaires per million people.
The disparities in these rankings offer valuable insights.
While São Paulo has the sheer volume of billionaires and their assets, Santa Catarina and Rio show higher concentrations of wealth relative to their populations.
This new composite data set gives us a comprehensive view of wealth distribution among Brazilian states.
The different metrics shed light on multiple aspects, painting a more complete picture than one single ranking could provide.
Brazil’s Answer to the French Riviera
Santa Catarina is emerging as Brazil’s answer to the French Riviera, luring in the wealthy and glamorous.
Contrary to popular assumption, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro don’t boast the country’s highest residential property prices per square meter.
The leading spots belong to Balneário Camboriú, Itapema in Southern Santa Catarina, and Vitória in Espirito Santo.
São Paulo ranks fourth, succeeded by Florianópolis and Itajaí in Santa Catarina, with Rio de Janeiro trailing behind.
These insights stem from a recent FipeZAP+ report.